Buffalo Grove warns residents to boil water

Buffalo Grove residents will need to boil their water after bacteria were found on Friday during routine testing.

Fecal coliform bacteria -- which may indicate a contamination by human or animal waste -- were found in the water supply.

The bacteria can make residents sick with diarrhea, cramps, nausea and headaches and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

Residents should bring all water to a boil for a minute and cool it before using it, the village warned. Boiled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation.

Village President Elliott Harstein said 29 samples were taken around town Wednesday. On Friday, the results showed that three of the samples were contaminated.

"I'm hoping that this was merely a sampling problem," he said.

The system in Buffalo Grove is connected throughout town, he said, and if one area was contaminated, that should have shown up in all the samples. No illnesses have been reported, he said.

Dave Haisma, superintendent of utilities for the village, said another test was scheduled to be done Friday night by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Those results will be in by this afternoon, and the IEPA will decide at that point whether to lift the order. The village hopes the order will be lifted by Sunday at the latest.

Haisma said the questionable samples were found in the northwest side of town.

Besides a mistake in the sampling, if water mains have been opened recently because of construction or been flooded by rain, that could also lead to contamination.

"It's not a positive confirmation that we have a bad system," he said. "This is just to be on the safe side."

Pete Panayiotou, owner of The Continental restaurant, said the order was already affecting his business Friday night.

"Usually we have people lined up, but we're not even three-quarters full yet," he said.

He said he turned off the cold water and ice maker in the restaurant so that employees wouldn't mistakenly use that water, and the restaurant has a tank that will boil water used for cooking continuously.

He said he can't offer his patrons drinking water, however, and will have to buy bottled water if the order continues.

Anyone who experiences any symptoms that could have been caused by drinking contaminated water should see a doctor.

Residents looking for more information should call Haisma at (847) 459-2519, the EPA's safe drinking-water hotline at (800) 426-4791 or visit www.vbg.org.